Curiocity: Q&A With Camila Alves McConaughey

She’s a mother, a model, a designer and a wife to a superstar husband. So, it’s easy to see why Macy’s wanted Camila Alves to represent their brand.

Alves, who’s married to actor Matthew McConaughey, said she only puts her name behind products she believes in and when it came to the style and fashion of INC, she knew it was something she wanted to be involved with.

“It’s really easy to do all kinds of endorsements and get money. It’s really easy to do that in this business,” she said. “But I think you kind of lose your authenticity and the truth that you carry. So I got to know about the brand and the one thing that I really fell in love with is that they really cover all bases and they cover all women, and all styles of women in all sizes — and that’s what I like to do in my own personal life.”

While she doesn’t design for the line, she said she fell in love with the clothes and was thrilled to be the face of the brand.

In her first visit to the Mall of America, Alves hosted an INC fashion show and had a chance to meet INC fans and Macy’s shoppers on Saturday.

In a few moments before the event began, Alves was kind enough to chat with us about everything from fashion to dressing her celebrity hubby.

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What were some of your favorite pieces of the INC line – or some of the trends that you saw?

So for the fall, we have a lot of the moto biker trend, a lot of embellishments, a lot of geographic prints. A lot of black and white. A lot of things that can help you look slim and taller and longer, more elongated and we always love those. I do really love the pants in this line. They’re really comfortable, extremely comfortable, and they just hug you in the right places and they just sculpt. The denim is fantastic. I love the things that they have now where it’s easy to travel with, they don’t wrinkle, you just roll it up and you’re good to go. And you can get different tops to mix and match with it, basic pieces, but if you put a pop of color, you’re in.

(credit: Adam Bettcher for Macy’s)

Do you think your style has changed since becoming a mom? How so?

It has, for sure. Well, my everyday style changed to be more simple. I don’t have as much time to put an outfit together. Back then, before kids, you work on accessories, or this or that, how can I make this different or unique? I used to joke, I had a collection of sunglasses and bracelets and earrings. I would change it up all the time. Now, after three kids, I’m lucky if I have one pair of sunglasses in my purse, you know what I mean. My jewelry is not changing. I have my go-to pieces that I never change for my everyday look. Now, for the red carpet, I feel like it’s a bit more of a mature look now. I still want to look sexy but I don’t feel as comfortable in stuff that I would really be into early on in my life. I just feel like it grows in a woman when she becomes a mother. I think that’s part of the beauty of it, instead of trying to chase the young … you had that, you lived that, now it’s the evolution of that. So I think a little more classic, a little more grown up.

And your hubby, Matthew McConaughey, always look fantastic on the red carpet. How much say do you have in his looks?

Thank you. It goes in and out because sometimes, like right now, he’s in Toronto and I’m going to go meet him at the Toronto Film Festival tonight and I’m not there to see what he’s going to wear. So sometimes it’s like, ‘Oh, what is he going to pick?’ kind of thing. But if we’re in the same place, we’re just like a regular couple, you know. We check in with each other.

(credit: Adam Bettcher for Macy’s)

Since you’ve been doing these Macy’s events and meeting shoppers, what’s one thing they always ask you?

You know, the INC brand customer, they’re very specific and they know what works for them. I had another event where this lady came in and she was maybe 50 or 55 and she came in and she was like, ‘You know, I only dress in INC and that’s the only brand I buy and every month we have a competition at work for who’s the best dressed and I win every month.’ And she was very proud about that. It’s also a mixed culture – they’re looking for something that fits them. You really see that mix of all-American to all mix. When you see them shopping, you’re like, ‘Wow, this is as vast of a window of shoppers as you can get.’ It’s pretty neat to see.

What are three things every woman should have in her closet?

So a skinny jean – I think every woman should have one that fits them right. The trick with skinny jeans is if you have really wide hips, get a black one so it’s more slimming. A peplum top, I think everyone should have that and we have that in the collection, full leather ones. Peplum tops because it’s on trend. It’s not going away. It was in trend a while back, it’s in trend again now. It’s not really going anywhere for a little while. The great thing about peplum tops is if you’re petite, it gives you curves. If you’re curvy, it kind of is forgiving in the belly. So it’s really for any body shape. Anyone can dress up or dress down peplum. And a third one? An embellished top is always a thing to have, as well, because if you don’t know and you have an important meeting or have a dinner that you’re trying to figure out what to wear, if you put nice pants and high heels and that top, then you’re done. Nice hair, nice makeup and you’re done. You don’t need to think about it. I think those three pieces are important must-have’s.

(credit: Adam Bettcher for Macy’s)

I saw your tweet about Labor Day. So what’s your opinion on the white rule?

White. Yeah. Any excuse to use white, for sure.

What are the big trends for fall this year?

Oh man, that’s a tricky question because I’m not really following what everybody’s doing. The thing with fall is that people – I’ll tell you this, I think people need to watch with fall is that, we go from summer to fall and all of sudden you’re going from pretty bright colors to all dark, because you’re getting ready for the winter time. Fall is a time when you can still have fun with colors – you don’t have to try to switch everything to black or brown. You can get those pieces because you’re transitioning from all the summer stuff, but play with pops of colors and play with accessories.

Where do you pull inspiration from when designing for your handbag line?

You know, my mom and I have been doing that for over eight years now and we’ll pull inspiration from each other a lot. What we’re doing in our lives, what transition we’re going through in our lives. I travel a lot, travel all over of the United States and out of the country so a lot of inspiration is coming from that. But most of the time it’s from nature. We’ll go to the Grand Canyon and the colors you see in the Grand Canyon, the colors you see in the mountains. A lot of the inspiration is coming from that.